cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32

Sossity · 08-10-2008

I just put together my own 1 TB hard drive, a seagate in an enclosure, & I want to format it to fat 32 for cross platform compatability, I am running windows XP home edition service pack 2, windows only offers NTFS, I looked up how to do this online & found an article about a DOS command & formatting to fat 32 through this but it did not work, said volume was too big, after an attempt format for 2 hrs. Is there any way this can be done? or is fat 32 an obsolete format? I read about a free program called compuapps swiss knife, but it does not work either, it does not even "see" my drive should I just give up on fat 32 & hope if I have to plug this into a mac machine that I can have the mac owner get windows drivers to read & write to my NTFS drive? I dont like proprietary formats, it backs me into a corner & will make it harder to move my files around.

I also notice that the XP computer is seeing my external hard drive as a local disc G along with the internal local disc C, when I initialized it I had the usb plugged into the computers back usb ports, does this matter? I read it is better to have an external drive plugged into the back usb ports. will it be able to be read if I plug it into a newer vista machine?

Sossity

*DrageMester* · 08-10-2008

NTFS is a superior filesystem to FAT32 in many ways, but if you need FAT32 for compatibility reasons, you could try formatting from the command line.

Let's assume the drive letter of your drive is S:

Open a Command Prompt (Start Menu => All Programs => Accessories)

Type the following command and press the Enter key:

FORMAT S: /FS:FAT32 /Q

I don't know if Windows will accept this for a 1 TB drive but it's worth a shot. If your drive letter is different, substitute S: with the relevant drive letter.

**mciahel** · 08-10-2008

Since the 32 GB is an artificial limit introduced by MS, a 3rd party application like h2format is needed.

On Windows systems, NTFS is clearly the preferred format.

*~Soul~* · 09-10-2008

I had the exact same problem...I went to the Seagate site and got their conversion program 4free .. worked great first time when I formatted mine over

*weedougie* · 09-10-2008

Go to the manufacturer’s web site and download their utility for the drive. I am sure that will do it for you.

*weedougie* · 09-10-2008

Must type faster!

**Dee** · 09-10-2008

One should also remember the file size limit on FAT32. Sossity i noticed in a thread in our HD forum that you're seeking advice on putting together a system for video editing and in the future you want to use that setup for editing HD content. The FAT32 limit on file size could become a real problem when editing HD content, so i would think hard before formatting a 1TB drive with FAT32 and transferring a lot of data to that drive. You may regret formatting it to FAT32 later, if you intend to use this drive for storing HD content.

*tropic* · 09-10-2008

True, but you can always convert to NTFS if you're running a recent MS OS.

As for formatting:

gdisk 2 /del /all
gdisk 2 /for /q /v:NEW_VOLUME LABEL

Yeah, I still use Symantec's GDISK utility.

Sossity · 09-10-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Soul~

I had the exact same problem...I went to the Seagate site and got their conversion program 4free .. worked great first time when I formatted mine over

thanks for the tip, do you have a link I can click to find this? I found disc wizard & downloaded this. I could not find it

Sossity

Sossity · 09-10-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrageMester

NTFS is a superior filesystem to FAT32 in many ways, but if you need FAT32 for compatibility reasons, you could try formatting from the command line.

Let's assume the drive letter of your drive is S:

Open a Command Prompt (Start Menu => All Programs => Accessories)

Type the following command and press the Enter key:

FORMAT S: /FS:FAT32 /Q

I don't know if Windows will accept this for a 1 TB drive but it's worth a shot. If your drive letter is different, substitute S: with the relevant drive letter.

thanks but I tried this exact procedure & after 2 hrs got an error message; voulme too high for fat32

*packetloss* · 09-10-2008

What other OS than Windows do you have in mind when you are talking about "cross platform compatability"? MacOSX can read NTFS out of the box (and write on NTFS volumes with third party software). Linux nowadays reliably supports both NTFS reading and writing.

Since you want to use this drive for video editing primarily, I guess it's the compatibility to MacOSX that is most important, due to Final Cut's substantial market share in the industry. But most who use a Mac in a professional environment these days usually have the appropriate software installed to handle NTFS partitions. There really is no point in using the outdated FAT32 filesystem.

**mciahel** · 09-10-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sossity

thanks but I tried this exact procedure & after 2 hrs got an error message; voulme too high for fat32

That's what I expected. I am using either the old WinME machine of my wife

or H2format published by the german computer magazine c't: http://www.heise.de/software/download/h2format/40825 (unfortunately in german only).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sossity

I found disc wizard & downloaded this. I could not find it

See Chapter 11.2 of the manual: http://www.seagate.com/support/discwizard/dw_ug.en.pdf

Sossity · 09-10-2008

thanks everyone for the tips I think I found a way, I downloaded a little program called fat 32 format, & ran this through windows command & it seemed to work, I checked it in windows explore, clicked on properties for local disc G, & showed up as fat32. This drive will be mostly for smaller files, a lot of photographs in tiff & jpg formats. I will have a separate drive dedicated to just movies files & projects which will be NTFS.

One other thing I noticed is that when I have my new drive running, there are 3 lights; 1; for power, 2; HDD; 3; fan; but only the power & fan lights are glowing all the time, the HDD does not, it has only glowed very fleetingly when I was running windows disc check for errors after I formatted it. Is there something wrong? does this matter? the HDD light goes on briefly when I 1st turn it on along with a windows ring recognizing it but then after that it goes off. windows does seem to see the drive, although only when I have it plugged into the back usb port, when in the front usb port, & I click on G windows does not seem to recognize it. It has showed up as healthy in disc management.

will windows vista be able to read & write to my fat 32 drive?

Sossity

*DrageMester* · 09-10-2008

The HDD light is only on when there is disc activity (reading or writing) - this is normal.

Windows Vista can read/write on FAT32 formatted disks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sossity

I downloaded a little program called fat 32 format...

Could you please post a link to help anyone else having the same problem?

Sossity · 09-10-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrageMester

The HDD light is only on when there is disc activity (reading or writing) - this is normal.

Windows Vista can read/write on FAT32 formatted disks.

Could you please post a link to help anyone else having the same problem?

it is fat 32 format in google, & www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/fat32format.htm, i am not sure how to post links

08-10-2008	#1
Sossity MyCE Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 180	cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 I just put together my own 1 TB hard drive, a seagate in an enclosure, & I want to format it to fat 32 for cross platform compatability, I am running windows XP home edition service pack 2, windows only offers NTFS, I looked up how to do this online & found an article about a DOS command & formatting to fat 32 through this but it did not work, said volume was too big, after an attempt format for 2 hrs. Is there any way this can be done? or is fat 32 an obsolete format? I read about a free program called compuapps swiss knife, but it does not work either, it does not even "see" my drive should I just give up on fat 32 & hope if I have to plug this into a mac machine that I can have the mac owner get windows drivers to read & write to my NTFS drive? I dont like proprietary formats, it backs me into a corner & will make it harder to move my files around. I also notice that the XP computer is seeing my external hard drive as a local disc G along with the internal local disc C, when I initialized it I had the usb plugged into the computers back usb ports, does this matter? I read it is better to have an external drive plugged into the back usb ports. will it be able to be read if I plug it into a newer vista machine? Sossity Last edited by Sossity; 08-10-2008 at 23:16.

08-10-2008	#2
DrageMester Retired Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Honah Lee Posts: 19,885	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 NTFS is a superior filesystem to FAT32 in many ways, but if you need FAT32 for compatibility reasons, you could try formatting from the command line. Let's assume the drive letter of your drive is S: Open a Command Prompt (Start Menu => All Programs => Accessories) Type the following command and press the Enter key: FORMAT S: /FS:FAT32 /Q I don't know if Windows will accept this for a 1 TB drive but it's worth a shot. If your drive letter is different, substitute S: with the relevant drive letter. __________________ Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

08-10-2008	#3
mciahel Senior Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 17,048	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 Since the 32 GB is an artificial limit introduced by MS, a 3rd party application like h2format is needed. On Windows systems, NTFS is clearly the preferred format. __________________ Mini-FAQ for Samsung DVD writers * HOWTO Flash Firmware of a Samsung (TSST) DVD writer How to attach disc quality scans

09-10-2008	#4
~Soul~ MyCE Resident Join Date: May 2008 Location: In a building Posts: 865	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 I had the exact same problem...I went to the Seagate site and got their conversion program 4free .. worked great first time when I formatted mine over __________________ I hear, I forget... I see, I understand... I do, I know. http://boomerboard.hyperboards.com/index.php Dedicated Digital Audio Workstation System HP Compaq SR5310F Intel Pentium(R)Dual CPU E2140 @ 1.60GHz 1.60 GHz 2 GB DDR2 PC5300 RAM Hitachi 250 GB HDT7205025VLA380 ATA L196WTY-BF LG Flatron 19" LCD Monitor Acomdata External Enclosure/Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 320 GB SATA HDD

09-10-2008	#5
weedougie MyCE Resident Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Here now somewhere else later. Posts: 1,569	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 Go to the manufacturer’s web site and download their utility for the drive. I am sure that will do it for you. __________________ People will often expend more time and energy avoiding work or the task before them than it would actually take to do it.

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09-10-2008	#7
Dee Senior Administrator and Reviewer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 12,811	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 One should also remember the file size limit on FAT32. Sossity i noticed in a thread in our HD forum that you're seeking advice on putting together a system for video editing and in the future you want to use that setup for editing HD content. The FAT32 limit on file size could become a real problem when editing HD content, so i would think hard before formatting a 1TB drive with FAT32 and transferring a lot of data to that drive. You may regret formatting it to FAT32 later, if you intend to use this drive for storing HD content. __________________ We came to wreck everything and ruin your lives, God sent us MyCE SSD Reviews To become a member of MyCE.com just click here to join The Forum Rules \| The SSD FAQ \| The NEC/Optiarc F.A.Q. \| Liggy & Dee's NEC/Optiarc Firmware Page

09-10-2008	#8
tropic CDFreaks Resident Join Date: May 2004 Location: Land of Sand and Scorpions Posts: 1,314	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 True, but you can always convert to NTFS if you're running a recent MS OS. As for formatting: gdisk 2 /del /all gdisk 2 /for /q /v:NEW_VOLUME LABEL Yeah, I still use Symantec's GDISK utility. __________________ X3220 \| IP35 Pro \| 4GB Mushkin D9 \| HD 2600XT \| too many hdds \| Vista Business currently installed: DVR-115L , iHAP422 Darth Tropic: "Whaddya mean the Dark Side of the Force is limited to 4x burning?!"

09-10-2008	#11
packetloss CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Germany Posts: 1,422	Re: cannot find a way to format my seagate 1 tb drive to fat 32 What other OS than Windows do you have in mind when you are talking about "cross platform compatability"? MacOSX can read NTFS out of the box (and write on NTFS volumes with third party software). Linux nowadays reliably supports both NTFS reading and writing. Since you want to use this drive for video editing primarily, I guess it's the compatibility to MacOSX that is most important, due to Final Cut's substantial market share in the industry. But most who use a Mac in a professional environment these days usually have the appropriate software installed to handle NTFS partitions. There really is no point in using the outdated FAT32 filesystem.

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